


Snowy December

by Skittlethrill



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, School Assignments, defrosting ice king hanzo?, english class is horrible, no beta plz help its 4 am
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:33:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22014919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skittlethrill/pseuds/Skittlethrill
Summary: Jesse McCree gets his big break getting assigned with ace student Hanzo Shimada in math - the one subject he isn't doing so well in. Written as part of the Target Practice Secret Santa!
Relationships: Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada
Comments: 2
Kudos: 55





	Snowy December

**Author's Note:**

> Really hope y'all enjoy this! I think I might have butchered this a little bit. This is my Secret Santa gift towards Yng, who gave me the prompts of "Hello World" and "TV Tropes" which I incorporated into this fic.

_ “-and the time is now 8:00 am, Tuesday, November the 29th. We’re looking at a high of 11 and and a low of 5 across the city, so bundle up. Sunny this morning, wind, clouds and possible snow inbound this afternoon, not letting up until tomorrow. COVW-FM, 90.9 - Non Stop Pop, coming to you live from the top of the-” _

Jesse hit the knob of the radio to turn it off, pulling into his parking space. Sighing, he pulled the keys out of the ignition, and after adjusting the rearview mirror to examine his face, he opened the door of his truck to exit, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he headed to Gibraltar High.

The halls bustled with activity as Jesse made his way to the cafeteria, many students chatting with each other, right to the table he sat at for three years beforehand.

“Jesse!” Fareeha cheered as he pulled him back into his seat. “Glad to see you!”

“Nice to see you, Fareeha!” Jesse tipped his hat. “Howdy’do.”

The rest of the table burst into loud, almost echoey laughter that filled the cafeteria, and even if the chatter was loud they were still the main focus of attention.

Baptiste laughed as he leaned back in his chair, checking his phone. “So, how’d you find that math test?”

“Terrible!” Jesse rolled his eyes when Baptiste brought up school. “I swear the teacher has it out for me. I’m probably failing the class!”

“Aww, that’s too bad, how ever shall you recover?” Brigitte teased as she punched Jesse in the shoulder. “Stop being so dramatic! You’ll get through it! Besides, you do well in other subjects, right?”

“Can’t you help me, Brigitte? I hear you’re good with all this math stuff.”

As their group talked and laughed, Jesse couldn’t help but notice a young man sitting by himself, reading a book, occasionally looking at their group with bored eyes.

* * *

“Alright, everyone!” The teacher clapped her hands as she silenced the class. “For this next assignment, you’ll have to complete this in pairs, randomly assigned.” This was met with several groans.

“Aw, teach!” Jesse protested. “Fareeha and I work really well!”

“I know. But I’d like to switch it up every now and then. It’s important that you learn to work with different people, not just your friends.”

Grumbling, Jesse slumped over his desk as the teacher pulled out the class list.

“Let’s see...first on the list gets paired with last, second with second last, and so on. Fareeha, since you’re first, you’ll be paired with Landon. Baptiste, you’ll be paired with Skylar. Morgan, your partner is…” J esse McCree’s name was probably in the middle of the list. So Jesse’s partner would be in the middle with him as well? He didn’t know a lot of people outside of his friend group and a few others…

“Jesse.” The jock snapped up as he looked to the teacher. “Your partner is Hanzo.” Once the teacher finished reading the names off, it was time for the class to get to work.

Scanning the room, Jesse quickly found Hanzo, sitting in the back. The same young man he saw in the cafeteria. Walking over, Jesse took the seat next to him. “Hey. Name’s Jesse.”

“I heard.”

Huh. Tough crowd. “Alright, well, we gotta get to work here.” Taking the rubric, Jesse took a look over the assignment. “Hoo, boy, this is lookin’ to be a doozy.”

“Hmph. It’s not that hard if you try.” Hanzo read it over as well, taking out his notebook to write some notes down.

“Wha-” Jesse sputtered. “Hey! I’m tryin’ my best here!”

“Well, you can certainly try harder by helping me out with this.” Hanzo took out a highlighter as he marked down certain tasks, and Jesse and Hanzo quickly bunkered down and got to work.

* * *

_ “Wednesday, November the 30th. High of 9 and low of -1, make sure you’re wearing warmer clothing. Looking to be mostly cloudly. COVW-FM, 90.9 - Non Stop Pop. Here’s the latest news on Lucheng Interstellar’s newest mission-” _

Jesse opened the door to the computer lab, entering it quietly. It was after school this time, but he really needed to read up on his math notes. As he entered, he noticed Hanzo at a computer lab. Against his better judgement, his path began to stray as he walked towards his project partner instead against his better judgement.

“Hey, Hanzo. What’re you doing?”

Whirling around, Hanzo didn’t seem to let his guard down as he glared at Jesse. “I’m finishing my computer science project.”

“Really? Can I see?”

Hanzo sighed, but let out a “Fine” as he hit the Enter key, his shoulders slowly lowering as he relaxed. 

The program starts up - it’s a simple 2-D game titled “Hello World”, and Hanzo lets Jesse play through. It’s fairly simple, but Jesse can tell the way Hanzo looks at it that he’s unsatisfied.

“What’s wrong?” He asks as his character passes the level.

“It needs something...extra. Something that will make it stand out.” 

To Jesse, up until yesterday, Hanzo was just a name on a sheet. Top of the class, mentioned once on the announcements, called out in attendance and nothing more. He’s not a friend, just his partner on a project...but somehow, Jesse felt compelled to help Hanzo out.

“Maybe...like a story element or something. When is this due?”

“A story element.” Hanzo echoes, deep in thought. “I suppose that can work. It’s not due until next week, so I hope I have enough time to implement that...thank you.”

Jesse chuckled as he took the computer next to Hanzo. “No problem.” 

It was Hanzo’s turn this time to ask questions as he watched Jesse log on. “What are you doing here, anyways?”

“Oh, just reading up on the math stuff we did today.”

“I can help you with that, you know.” Hanzo shut off his computer. “We’re in the same class.”

“Really?” Jesse looked to Hanzo in disbelief. “You sure? I mean, I don’t want to intrude-”

“If it means we can do better on our assignment, then it’s necessary.” Hanzo took his textbook and notes. “So, what do you need help with?”

* * *

_ “And today is Thursday, November the 31st, traffic blockage on the 27 from Adawe to Petras. What do you mean, November has 30 days? It’s 30 days of September, April, June May and December, right? Ohhh. Thursday, December 1! High of 5 and low of -8, bundle up because snow’s going to be falling through the day, COVW-” _

“Jesse!”

He snapped his head up from his desk, cheeks red. “H-huh?”

It was the middle of a work period in math, and Jesse had found he dozed off again. Hanzo was across from him, looking a tiny bit amused. “I take it football practice is tiring?”

“Well, we’re in the football off-season, actually.” Jesse explained. “I was helping Baptiste and Fareeha with basketball practice.”

“Mm.” Hanzo nodded. “At least get some coffee or something. That way, you won’t doze off in first period consistently. Now, help me out with this.”

The two read over the instructions for the second part of their assignment. “Looks like we’ll need to get crafty and make a presentation board.” Jesse noted. “You wanna get together outside of school to work on it? You can come to my house.”

Hanzo paused, looking Jesse over, seemingly examining his face before he nodded. “Y-yes, actually, that would be good. I’d prefer that.”

“Alright, well, we’ll need to get a few things first. My dad has some crafts supplies, might have a Bristol board, but if he doesn’t we’ll need to buy some.” 

“That sounds good.” Hanzo surmised. “And your father’s fine with it?”

“He won’t even know, he works at a shop that closes at 6. All we just have to do is get our stuff together and we’re done!” 

The two quickly began going over their plan for the assignment.

* * *

It was later in the day when Jesse opened his book for English, the teacher handing back the essays they had done the week prior. He peered one eye over the aged novel as his desk became the latest recipient of an assignment.

_ “Well done, Jesse!”  _ was written in red ink, with a  _ 90 _ circled on the front page, big enough for his seatmate to see.

He eyed Hanzo, two rows ahead, as he looked at his own essay. His eyes became downcast as he read it over, sighing and putting the assignment into his binder. Jesse squinted, and he was certain he spotted a  _ 61 _ on the front page.

* * *

Jesse waited by his pickup truck as students filed out. Most of them recognized him and gave small waves as they passed him by, but he had his eyes on Hanzo as he exited. The snow was beginning to fall, white flakes dissolving against the ground.

“You ready?” He asked as the student approached, opening the passenger door for him. “Hop in, and let’s ride.”

Hanzo buckled in, as did Jesse, and they began driving to Jesse’s house. Hanzo was a bit silent, looking out the window as Jesse drove.

“So.” Jesse started, breaking the silence. “What’re your classes?”

Hanzo looked over from the passing houses. “Oh, after math I have physics, then chemistry, computer science and English. We have the same class together, I believe.”

“We do?” Jesse tried to think about his English class. “Huh. Never realized that.”

Hanzo scoffed, a smile on his face. “Small world, is it not?”

“So how is English, anyways?” Jesse asked as he turned the steering wheel, making the turn into his neighbourhood. “Must be different being the only non-math or science.”

Hanzo was quiet for a bit. “Better not to talk about it. I just...need improvement, that’s all.”

Jesse grit his teeth. From what he could tell, Hanzo was a star student, but if he was doing bad... 

“I can help you, you know.” He blurted out. “I ain’t good at math, that’s for sure, but English is somethin’ I’m good at. Trust me, I know it enough to butcher the language right.”

A snort from the passenger side as Hanzo smiled. “Are you sure?” He tentatively asked. 

“Well, I gotta help you back considering all you’ve done for me.” Jesse pulled into the driveway, taking the keys out of the ignition. “Alright, let’s get to work.”

* * *

It was later in the evening when Jesse and Hanzo had managed to finish their presentation board, and Hanzo was packing up when Jesse asked something.

“Hey, Hanzo, you up for maybe...hanging out together tonight? Spend some time before you go home?”

Hanzo mulled over the proposal, but much to Jesse’s relief he nodded. “Of course.” And so, the two went back into Jesse’s truck, shivering as they warmed up. The cold air outside was still filled with snowflakes, the streetlights highlighting them as they fell.

“Anywhere you got in mind?”

“There’s a small cafe near my house called the Globe Cafe. Maybe we could go there.”

“Sure! Just need some directions.” 

Hanzo took out his phone, acting as navigator as Jesse drove around the neighbourhood, with houses transitioning to shops and plazas, and office buildings before going back to shops and apartment buildings. The Globe Cafe was well-sized, and Jesse could see a few familiar faces inside.

“Hold up. Is that…” Jesse walked over to one of the booths. “Fareeha? Brig, Jean-Baptiste - hey, the gang’s all here!”

Fareeha almost spit out her drink as she saw Jesse. “How’d you know we were here?!”

“Oh, I didn’t! Hanzo just showed me this place!” Jesse placed his arm around Hanzo, whose face was starting to turn red, his studious partner’s eyes drawn to the floor. “Aw, come on, y'ain't gotta be shy! Come sit with us! That’s Brigitte, that’s Fareeha, Baptiste, and Lena.”

Jesse’s friends moved to let Jesse and Hanzo into the booth as they began talking animatedly about their days and the latest gossip on their friend group. 

“Okay, so Mr. De Kuiper FINALLY got around to marking our quizzes!" Brigitte started. "And guess what I got?”

“What?” Lena asked as she sipped her drink.

“87! I told you he didn’t have it out for me! Now, Ms. O’Deorain, on the other hand…”

“O’Deorain’s hard on everyone, super-genius or not.” Jean-Baptiste pointed out.

“Hey! I’m just good with machines!”

Jesse turned to see Hanzo, who was staring out the window. “What about you, Hanzo? Is O’Deorain hard on ya?”

“Hm?” Hanzo turned from his view of the outside street. “Oh, no, she likes me. I’m getting an 89 in her class.”

“WHAT?!” The rest of the booth exclaimed. 

Jesse made a low whistle at that. “Damn, Hanzo, yer pretty smart!”

“No way, our class average is wayyy below that! Dude, you’re a super genius!” Brigitte laughed, to which Hanzo blushed and looked away once more, a bit uncomfortable with all the attention he was getting. Everyone kept talking for a few more minutes until Hanzo motioned to get out of the booth, which Jesse let him. 

“Ah, thank you for letting me meet my friends, but I have to go. My father’s calling me.” Hanzo put his jacket over his clothes as he made his preparations to go home.

“Alright then, see ya guys-”

“Oh, no, I’m going by myself.” Hanzo tied his scarf around his neck, zipping his jacket up and tucking the ends in. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry. Just a short walk.”

“What?” Jesse looked out the window, where small patches of snow dotted the parking lot outside. “It’s really snowing outside…” He followed Hanzo into the windy parking lot. “Look, I can drive you-”

“I said I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.” Hanzo didn’t even look backwards as he walked off, his voice icy as the wind that blew around the two. “Good night.”

Jesse had no other choice but to walk back into the cafe, and with how the wind was blowing against his back, it was like he was being forced apart from Hanzo.

* * *

_ “-totally crazy, right? Listening to her album was amazing!! Friday, December the 2nd. Keep your jackets on, high of 5 and low of -3. Snow should stop around this morning, after that it’ll be sunny with some cloud cover. COVW-FM, Non-Stop Pop! Time is-” _

Jesse walked into the cafeteria, spotting Hanzo sitting at his usual table. He waved, but Hanzo didn’t seem to notice, so he simply sat down at his regular table. But yet, he simply couldn’t relax, finding his eyes drifting towards Hanzo every now and then. 

The table burst into laughter - Baptiste had told a joke or something - and he could see Hanzo shut his book and leave. Jesse stood, heading the same way as he entered the hallway. “Hanzo, wait!” He called.

Hanzo turned around, glancing at the floor and averting his eyes as Jesse approached him.

“I just wanted to talk with ya.” Jesse put his hands in his pockets. “Is everythin’ alright?”

“...Is it okay if we talk outside?” Hanzo asked, glancing towards the stairwell. “It’s just...I want to keep this between you and I.”

“Of course.” Jesse followed Hanzo outside, and while it was a bit cold, he could stand it. For a moment, it was just them two as the snow began to let up, awkwardly sharing the space.

“I have something to admit.” Hanzo bit his lip slightly, and Jesse could tell this wasn’t something he did often. “I...I liked spending time with you yesterday, and I really do want to spend more time.”

“Okay…” Jesse trailed, prompting Hanzo to continue.

“I just feel like...we’re really different. I’m bad at describing things, it’s just…I’m completely unfamiliar with these feelings. It’s like a whole new world to me. I’ve learned so much about you, that you’re good with English, and you’re just so amazing and not just a bunch of unruly jocks-” Hanzo’s eyes widened as he realized his admission. “Wait, I mean no offense-”

Jesse smiled a bit at that, chuckling and rubbing the back of his head. Well, he wouldn’t blame him for saying that. “Well, I guess we kinda deserve that. But honestly, it’s fine. You don’t gotta worry about it.” 

“Really?” Hanzo looked up at Jesse.

“I’ll be with ya every step of the way. I wouldn't mind spending time with you either. Besides, I can help you with English, and you can help me with math!” Jesse put an arm around Hanzo, patting his back. “Now, let’s get back inside and warmed up, alright?”

Hanzo smiled warmly as they made their way inside. Above them, the sun began to poke through the clouds as the snow stopped.


End file.
